Lot No. 20: WILLIAMSON, CAPT. THOMAS AND SAMUEL HOWETT.

ORIENTAL FIELD SPORTS

Medium: Printed Books
Year: 1808
Size: 11 x 8.7 inches
Place: London

Winning Bid : ₹2,37,600

(Inclusive Buyer's Premium)

Estimate

2,00,000 - 3,00,000

Estimate US$

2400-3600

Ends at Oct 17, 2024 07:25 PM IST

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Total : 1 bids | Next 5 valid bids | 20% Buyer's Premium | Additional Charges | Comparable

WILLIAMSON, CAPT. THOMAS AND SAMUEL HOWETT.

ORIENTAL FIELD SPORTS

BEING A COMPLETE, DETAILED, AND ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE WILD SPORTS OF THE EAST; AND EXHIBITING, IN A NOVEL AND INTERESTING MANNER, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ELEPHANT, THE RHINOCEROS, THE TIGER, THE LEOPARD, THE BEAR, THE DEER, THE BUFFALO, THE WOLF, THE WILD HOG, THE JACKALL, THE WILD DOG, THE CIVET, AND OTHER DOMESTICATED ANIMALS: AS LIKEWISE THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF FEATHERED GAME, FISHES, AND SERPENTS.

Year: 1808

Size: 28 x 22.5 cm (11 x 8.7 inches)

Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. For Edward Orme and B. Croby and co. 1808.
First quarto edition, Vol I PP 306, Vol II PP 239 Hard binding title in gilt on spine. Early full tree calf morocco recently rebacked, spine in five compartments, decorative tooling in gilt on both covers.

Complete with 42 plates, including two engraved titles and 40 original full page sepia aquatints plates by J. Clark after Samuel Howett of south Asian natural history.

40 aquatint plates after Howitt. First edition of 4to size of the finest book ever published on Indian sport and one of the great colour-plate books of the period.

Williamson served in a British regiment in Bengal and was an avid sportsman while there. A self-taught artist, Williamson turned professional when financial difficulties forced him to earn a living. He drew on his enthusiasm and knowledge as a sportsman and produced sporting and natural history paintings, etchings, and illustrations. He sometimes worked in oils but more frequently in water colours, and he was an accomplished etcher. After being recalled to England, Williamson's knowledge of wild life and Oriental sports had come to the notice of the Orme family (Rohatgi & Parlett). The Orme's contracted with celebrated painter Samuel Howitt to prepare finished watercolours based on Williamson's original sketches during his time in India, and published the work, originally in 20 parts, between 1805 and 1807. The result was the most beautiful book on Indian sport in existence (Schwerdt). The work, however, is not merely a sporting book. As Williamson writes in the Preface, the work is offered to the public as depicting the Manners, Customs, Scenery, and Costume of a territory now intimately blended with the British Empire, and of such importance to its welfare, as to annex a certain degree of consequence to every publications, that either exhibits, or professes to impart, a knowledge of whatever may hitherto have been concealed, or that remains unfolded to our view. The plates, etched by J. Clarck. Howitt and Williamson's images are vivid depictions of both the chase and the Indian scenery. Of particular note are the four plates treating elephants, described by Williamson as possessing "the energy of the horse, the sagacity of the dog, and a large portion of the monkey's cunning. The eleven plates devoted to the tiger are each riveting.

The work was published to great acclaim. An 1807 issue of The Monthly Review declared: "Much entertainment for the eye, and much information for the mind will be found in this very splendid volume." The Review continues by lamenting the high cost of the work: "Twenty guineas may be a trifle in Nabob's pocket: but Nabobs are not numerous in England; and we should suppose that the sale of such a work as this cannot be very widely diffused." This no doubt contributed to the work's present-day rarity.

Provenance : Collection of a Gentleman

Good Condition

	Nickname	Amount(Rs)	Type	Date & Time(IST)
1	anon0347	198000.00	Regular	17-10-2024 06:10:31 PM IST

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Lot No. 20: WILLIAMSON, CAPT. THOMAS AND SAMUEL HOWETT.

ORIENTAL FIELD SPORTS

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WILLIAMSON, CAPT. THOMAS AND SAMUEL HOWETT.

ORIENTAL FIELD SPORTS

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